Button



Patented Jan. 15, 1924.

UNITED STATES MAJOR M. ROBINSON, OF JACKSON, .IEIN'NESSEE.y

kppiieationund November 2'2, 1922. Serial Nb. 602,575.

To all 'whom may concern.'

Be it know that Il, MAJOR M. RoniNsoN,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Jackson, in the county ofMadison and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Buttons, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in buttons and is directedv increespecially to uniform or other decorative buttons and has: as onel ofitsprimary objects to provide a buttonl which willf beadapted for secureattaehrnent to the overlapped side of a uniform coat orother garmentand' will present anl unobstructed shank projecting forwardly from@ thesaid portion of the garment a sufficient distance to so space the headof the button from thefsaidvr portion of the garment als to perm of freeplay of the overlapping portion which willl be provided with abuttonhole for passage over the head of the button. Therefore, theinvention contemplates the provision or a button which willbeparticularly adapted liar employment on uniforms inasmuch' astherewill be no uckering of the garment where it is engage with the buttonand therefore the garment will present and maintain a neat and dressyalppeaarance and will be less liable to become wrinkled than where theordinary button is employed.

Another object of the invention is to so construct the button that whenapplied to the overlapped portion o'f theE garment it willl be securelylocked, in place` so that it cannot become lost or disarranged.

As stated, the button is designed primarily for use upon uniforms orWhere a decorativel eiect is to be produced by the button ait thesametime it performs its primary function, and as uniform buttons ordinarilybear insignia on the faces of their heads it is of' course; desirablethat the buttons be maintained* in position to display such in'- signiain upright position, and therefore the invention has as anotherimportant object to provide means whereby this result be obtained.

Inthe accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a View in elevation of the buttonl embodying the inventionapplied to the gement;

Fig. 2 is a group perspective view illnetraxtiug the component parts ofthe button disassembled;

Fig. is a perspective view illustrating the locking means provided torholding the locking' key in laico;-

Fig. 4 is a. ongitudinaal section-1l View through the locking key;

In the drawings the head of the button is indicated in general by thenumeral 1 a/nd the same mary be of any desired contour and dimensionsand ornamented or provided Witih insignia as may be found desirable.The` head 1 is provided with an axially located shank 2 which for aportion of its length is of cylindrical contour as indicated by thenumeral 3 and for the remainderl of its length is reduced and given arectangular form as indicated by the numoral 4. The shank 2 is formedwith a threaded bore indicated by the numeral 5, the bore openingthrough the end of the reduced squared portion 4 of the shank 2.

The back of the button comprises a body 6 which may be of the circularform shown in the drawings or of any other desired contour, and the backis provided upon one of its faces with a threaded stud 7 designed toenter the threaded' bore 5. In connection with the back 6 there isemployed a washer indicated by the numeral 8 which is formed centrallywith a rectangular opening 9 of dimensions to adapt the Washer to befitted on to the reduced squared portion 4 of the shank 2 as best shownin Fig. 1 of the drawings. In the said figure the numeral l() indicatestheA overlapped portion of a garment such, for example,y as the front ofa unio'rm coat or jacket and the' numeral 1l indicates the overlappingportion of mid garment, this lfaiiter portion being formed with abuttonhole indicated by the numeral 12. At this point it may he remarkedthat ordinarily uniform buttons are riveted or similarly secured* to theportion 10' of the garment and have relatively short sha-nhs so thatwhen the overlapping portion H of the garment is applied over thebuttoriand the shank of the button is received intheV buttonhole 12this portionof the garment is liable to pocker or become wrinkled thus detractingfrom the neat and dressy appearance of the uniform; By referring ro Fig.of the drawings it will be observed that in the present invention thisdisadvantage is eiectually overcome for when the portion 10 of thegarment is suitably puncturcd to receive the squared portion 4 ol thelshank 2 of the button head and this shank is fitted -rst through theopening 9 in the washer 8 and then through the puncture in the saidportion 10, the Washer Will bear against the shoulder formed byproducing the reduced portion 4, and which shoulder is indicated in thedrawings by the numeral 13, and will also hear flat against the forwardside of the said portion of the garment. lith the parts thus positionedthe stud 7 of the bai-k 6 is then threaded into the bore 5 by rotatingthe back, and finally the said portion of the garment Will be clamped{irmly between the washer and the back. If desired the back 6 may beprovided with a milled or serrated periphery 14 to facilitate itsassemblage with the shank of the head 1.

As previously stated it is desirable to maintain the head 1 of thebutton in a predetermined position in View of the fact that the buttonwill ordinarily bear insignia of one kind or another upon the face ofits head and it is desirable to keep the insignia in an uprightposition. Therefore, in order that the button may be maintained in suchposition, a spur 15 is provided upon that face of the washer 8 which isto bear against the portion 10 of the garment, and this spur willpenetrate the said portion of the garment when the back 6 is assembledwith the other parts of the button.

Inasmuch as it is desirable that the button be more or less securelyanchored to the portion 10 of the garment, a looking means is providedfor the purpose of preventing rotation of the back 6, and this means, asillustrated in Fi 2 of the drawings, comprises a locking rey 16 havingbeveled lateral edges 17 adapting it to be removably inserted into arecess 18 having beveled or undercut side Walls 19 and which recess isformed in that face of the back 6 from which the threaded stud 7projects. The recess 18 opens through the periphery of the said back andextends radially inwardly across the face of the back beyond the centerthereof so that in fact the stud 7 projects from the bottom wall of thesaid recess. The locking key 16 is formed in its end which is to belocated Within the inner end of the recess 18, when the key is in place,with a recess 20 defining locking lingers 21 located in spaced parallelrelation. The opposin sides of the fingers 21 are plane an spaced aparta distance equal to the diametric dimension of the reduced squaredportion 4 of the shank 2. It will now be evident that when the parts areassembled, with the exception of the locking key 16, in the mannerpreviously stated, the end of the squared portion 4 of the shank 2 willseat in the recess 18 in the back 6 and after the back has been rotatedWith relation to the head of the button to such position that two of thefaces of the portion 4 wili be parallel to the edges of the walls 19 ofthe recess 18, the key may be fitted inte place Within the recess, andwhen it has been properly inserted, its lingers 21 will straddle thesquared portion 4 of the shank 2 :1nd in this manner the parts will belocked against relative. rotation.

In order that the locking key 16 may be held in place within the recessin the back of the button, a latch spring 22 is secured at one end, asat 28, within a recess in the head of the key and, through itsresiliency, normally assumes a position sprung to project at its freeend somewhat beyond the plane of the face of the locking key withinwhich the said recess is formed. This end of the latch spring is formedwith a locking "i" tongue 25 which is designed to be s rung intoengagement in a notch 26 formed 1n the inner Wall of the recess 18, whenthe locking ke f is slid into place within the said recess. Oil course,when the locking tongue is in engagement in the notch, the locking keywill be securely held against Withdrawal, but in order that it may bewithdrawn when occasion requires a fin er button 27 is provided and isconnected y a shank 28 to the latch spring 22. The shank 28 of thisbutton works through a slot 29 in the back 6 of the bottom and whenpressure is applied against the head 27 in an inward direction, thelocking tongue 25 will be disengaged from the notch 26.

While the button, in the embodiment illustrated in the drawings andhereinbefore described, is designed primarily for employment Where oneportion of a garment is to be bnttoned in overlapped relation to anotherportion, it will be understood that, by a slight modification instructure, the button might be employed merely as an orna ment as, forexample, on the sleeves of the garment.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A button comprising a head having a shank formed with a reducedsquared end portion, a Washer fitted thereon against the shoulderprovided b the formation of said portion and thus he d in spacedrelation to the back of the head, the shank havin a threaded bore, aback having a threaded stud fitting the said bore, and means upon theback coactin with the squared portion of the shank and locking the backagainst rotation in a direction to unthread the stud from the bore.

2. A button comprisin a head having a shank formed with a re ucedsquared end portion, a Washer fitted thereon against the shoulderprovided b the formation of said portion and thus he d in spacedrelation to the back of the head, the shank havin a. threaded bore, aback havin a threa ed stud fitting the said bore, an means upon the backcoactin with the squared portion of the shank an locking the backagainst lSO rotation in a direction to unthread the stud from the bore,thc said means comprising a key slidably engaged with the back andhaving spaced portions to straddle the squared portion of the headshank.

3. A button comprising a head having a shank formed with a reducedsquared end portion, a Washer fitted thereon against the shoulderprovided b the formation of said portion and thus held in spacedrelation to the hack of the head, l(he shank having a threaded bore, nback having a` threaded stud fit-ting the said bore, and means upon thetion of the head shank, and a latch carried by the locking key andcoacting with the said back of the button to restrain the key againstdisplacement from the recess in which it is seated.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature.

MAJOR M. ROBINSON. [L 5.]

